Foresight broke through the clouds, descending rapidly.. Nicholas spotted the enormous alien through the aft camera feed as it finished pulling itself up out of the hole. The drones flew back into the view, separating again into their smaller components.

  Where was Card?

  Nicholas began setting targets for the spines, focusing most of their energy on the tentacled monstrosity. The armored trife were little more than specks against the backdrop, but he was able to select them too.

  Hearing their approach, the huge alien looked up, its mouth opened wide, a loud whine audible through the Swarm.

  Nicholas pitched Foresight forward until it was level with the ground, its skids down. He slowed, activating the anti-gravity to hover high overhead as he triggered the spines.

  Beams of energy split the sky, combining into a powerful bolt that struck the large alien center mass, cutting it in two before lancing straight into the ground. Nicholas watched the energy ripple outward through the ground, knowing the searing heat was spreading underground and through the tunnels, killing everything in its path.

  He fired the spines once more, this time in a circular spread of individual beams. The bolts slammed into the armored trife, digging through their protection and tearing them apart. Impacts either vaporized the smaller aliens or tore them to miniscule pieces. The heat alone melted those farther from the impacts into puddles where they stood, the barrage burning away the overgrown vegetation to leave an ash and goo-filled ring of destruction.

  “I hope Card was thrown clear of all that,” Gills said, marveling at the extent of the damage.

  “I hope so too,” Nicholas said, knowing the Marine might not have even survived the hit he took from the tentacle. Removing his finger from the spine’s fire control, he looked for both Card and Shepard, seeing neither one. “Swarm,” he said, waiting there for the smoke and ash to clear before landing. “Find Shepherd and Card.” The only two he thought might have survived.

  Most of the microbots had recovered from the strike, though Nicholas guessed some of them had to have been destroyed. They spread out, zipping around the area in search of the two men.

  The Swarm found Shepherd first. Propped against the side of a building, his head twisted in an awkward angle from his body, his eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky.

  “Oh, Nick,” Yasmin said. “I hope I never have to see you like that.”

  “Me too,” Nicholas replied.

  It took the Swarm nearly ten more minutes to locate Sergeant Card. The hit from the alien had sent him through one of the thinner, window-like sections of a building into the interior. Entering the hole made by his impact, the microbots found him lying on top of something that vaguely resembled a sofa in what might have been an apartment unit. The interior was undamaged though covered with dust, offering the slightest hint about the nature of the civilization that had vanished from the city.

  To Nicholas, it looked like they could have been human.

  “Sergeant Card,” he said. “Can you hear me?”

  No reply.

  “Card,” Nicholas repeated. “Do you copy?”

  Nothing.

  “Is he alive?” Yasmin asked.

  “Swarm, is he alive?” Nicholas said, passing the question on.

  A screen appeared on the feed, appearing to show Card’s HUD. He and each of his Marines were listed along the left side. All of them had red circles around them except him. His circle was orange.

  “I assume red means dead,” Yasmin said. “And orange means injured.”

  “You’re probably right,” Nicholas agreed. “It looks like we made our own LZ. Jennifer, you have the stick.”

  “Yes, sir. I have the stick.”

  “Gills, Scott, Macey…” He began unfastening his restraints as Jennifer began easing Foresight down for landing. “...you’re with me. Let’s go get Card.”

  Chapter 11

  Jennifer kept Foresight on the ground just long enough for Nicholas and the others to depart. With the Swarm circling the LZ, keeping watch for signs of more aliens, she lifted off, hovering twenty meters off the ground with the spines charged and ready, like a miniature sun crackling with energy. So far, both Foresight’s sensors and the feeds from the drones remained clear.

  Nicholas carried the beam pistol Grimmel had left him, while Gills hefted the plasma rifle and Scott and Macey carried conventional MK assault weapons. They didn’t have much armor to speak of, limited to the simple kevlar vests of Grimmel Towers security.

  Nicholas hoped they wouldn’t need any of it.

  As before, Dag led the way, sprinting out into the burned landscape on his repaired leg, Nicholas and the others running from the Landing Zone right behind him. They headed straight for the building where they’d located Card, a small grouping of the Swarm’s microbots following them.

  A tall, transparent facia served as the entrance, though it was difficult to spot from a distance because of the overgrowth. A path had been recently trampled through the weeds by the creatures, which helped guide them into the structure.

  A small atrium at the front contained a hole in the ground a dozen feet in, undoubtedly where the aliens had burrowed through a marbled stone floor to the bedrock beneath. The area around the hole showed signs of damage from Foresight’s ion blast, and burned carcasses of the smaller aliens lay scattered across the room.

  Gills approached the hole first, swinging his rifle down and looking into the tunnel. “Looks clear,” he said.

  “Swarm, check the tunnel,” Nicholas said, directing his voice toward Dag. He hadn’t seen that the two intelligences were specifically linked, but he assumed Grimmel would have connected everything he had made.

  His hunch proved correct when a fragment of the Swarm buzzed into the room, spiraling over the hole before diving in.

  “Jennifer, anything?” Nicholas asked through their ship’s comm.

  “Negative, Captain,” she replied. “You’re clear.”

  Nicholas assumed the building had been residential. The atrium didn’t offer any other clues. It was entirely bereft of decoration or furniture. An entrance in the back led to a series of platforms in the rear, each about the size of an elevator cab. Only there were no shafts. The floor and ceiling remained solid. The two outside windows were plated in glass with what appeared to be strands of metal running through them that made them look like circuit boards. A thin pillar rose to waist height in front of them.

  “Well, this is awkward,” Gills said, looking around the room. “I don’t see any stairs. Or even a door.”

  “I bet that’s some kind of transport system,” Macey said, walking over to the pillar. “Like the transporter in Star Trek, eh? You know, beam me up, Scotty. We even have our own Scott.” She stared at the pillar for a moment before tapping on the top of it. Nothing happened.

  “I’m not sure you should be touching that,” Scott said.

  “Aww, it’s harmless. Doesn’t even work.”

  “If that is a transporter, whoever made it had to be pretty confident it would never break if they didn’t include emergency stairs,” Nicholas said. “Unless they kept the stairs hidden for aesthetics?”

  “We don’t even know that whoever made this place was human,” Gills said. “What if those tentacle aliens used to be the residents? We could have stumbled onto some kind of weird octopus zombie thing.”

  “Are you bonkers?” Macey said. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  Ignoring them, Nicholas inspected the wall beside the platforms, looking it over for a hidden door. He knocked on the wall, trying to determine whether or not it was hollow. The material reminded him of the texture of a clamshell, and it seemed equally hard. No matter where he hit it, the wall made the same sound.

  Could the makers really be so confident in their technology they didn’t need a less advanced way to get up and down?

  “Why don’t we just use the Swarm to pull him out?” Macey asked.

  “Because he’s injured,” Nicholas replied. “We have to be careful how we move him.” He turned away from the wall, thinking. “If those are transporters, and the builders didn’t offer another means to traverse the building, then my guess is the transporters don’t work because they have no power.”

  “We’ve got plenty of juice in Foresight,” Scott said.

  “Did anyone bring jumper cables?” Gills asked.

  “We have multiple power sources,” Nicholas said. “But no idea how to hook them up.”

  Dag walked up to the pillar and released one of his blades. Curious, Nicholas watched as the small bot used one of its blades to pry open a panel he’d missed seeing. He pulled out a drawer-like container filled with a milky white, translucent substance and reached into the drawer to remove a small black box from the goop. At the same time, one of the Swarm microbots separated from the grouping and flew down to him, perching on his open palm. Opening the box, Dag removed a small crystal that reminded Nicholas of the diamond on Yasmin’s engagement ring. A little over a karat, it had been all he could afford on his salary at the time. Dag tossed the crystal aside. Then he closed his hand around the microbot, crushing it.

  “Dag!” Nicholas snapped, confused by the action. Opening his hand, Dag rubbed his thumb against his palm to remove the debris and reveal a similar, slightly smaller crystal. The power source for the microbot. He placed it in the black box, sticking the box back into the goop and sliding the drawer back in before closing the panel.

  A river of light ran up along the pedestal before casting a projection at normal chest height. Four separate holographic segments appeared, each displaying symbols Nicholas didn’t recognize or understand.

  “It’s too bad B isn’t here,” Scott said. “She would be flipping out about this right now.”

  “So would Luke,” Nicholas said. “Okay, we’ve got power. How do we work this thing?”

  Dag held his arms up to Macey like an infant wanting to be picked up. She shrugged and complied with his request, turning him toward the projection. He manipulated the symbol on the far left, rotating through a series of icons until he was satisfied before turning his squared head toward Nicholas.

  “Now what?” Gills said.

  The metal strands in the platform on the left started to glow.

  “Now we get on the platform,” Nicholas said.

  “Are you sure we can trust this thing? It probably hasn’t been used in a thousand years or more.”

  “It looks like it still works.” He crossed the room and stepped onto the platform. Of course, he didn’t know how it worked, and that unknown caused his pulse to increase as he waited for the others to join him. “Get on.”

  “I’m good here,” Gills said.

  “What are you, a pansy?” Scott asked, stepping onto the platform.

  “Looks like a pansy to me,” Macey said, joining him.

  “What? Me?” Gills hurried onto the platform. “I—”

  A flash of light blinded Nicholas and cut Gills off before he could finish speaking. When his vision cleared a few seconds later, it immediately became obvious they were somewhere else.

  Chapter 12

  “I’m still all here, right?” Gills said, patting himself down with his free hand. “Macey, do I look okay?”

  “I think your arse is on your head, and your head is on your arse,” Macey replied.

  “What?” Gills hissed.

  “Focus, people,” Nicholas said, stepping off the platform. The room they had teleported to was identical to the atrium they had just left, minus the dead aliens and the hole in the ground. A pair of hallways split off the atrium, one to the left, the other to the right. As Nicholas had guessed, the thinner material of the walls here had a translucent quality that reminded him of looking through tinted glass. He knew from the height they had jumped directly to the floor Card had landed on.

  “I wish I’d had one of these growing up,” Macey said. “My flat was ten stories up with a dingy little elevator that didn’t work half the time and lots of stairs. You could either wait ten minutes for a ride up or hoof it yourself. This is brilliant.”

  “Macey,” Nicholas said, putting his finger to his lips to quiet her.

  “Right. Sorry, Cap’n. I still need some practice on the shutting up bit.”

  “Swarm, which direction?” Nicholas asked, relaying the question through Dag.

  The microbots moved into the hallway to the left. They followed.

  The interior of the building didn’t stand out in any way. Hard beige walls gave way to doors designed like the aperture of a camera lens, all of them sealed tight. Given more time, Nicholas would have liked to explore the apartments a little more to learn about whoever had lived here. Their construction materials were different, their technology more advanced in some ways, but otherwise everything seemed similar to human designs. At least now he understood why there were no vehicles outside. Why drive or fly somewhere when you could teleport? Maybe the roads had carried motorized traffic once upon a time, but in the end the only use for the roads had probably been for leisurely walking.

  They continued down the passage until Dag came to a stop in front of one of the doors, indicating they had reached the right place. Nicholas didn’t know how to open the aperture, but he figured Dag would. Any remaining doubts he’d had that Grimmel was either an alien himself, or knew one or more of these aliens had gone out the window with Dag’s repair of the teleporter. He probably should have been amazed by the implications, but he had already been through too much to think of it as just par for the course.

  At least that also explained where all of Grimmel Corporations tech had come from. Well, not all. Yasmin had insisted at least some of it had originated with human scientists. Then again, how did he know if those scientists weren’t aliens like Grimmel? What if these aliens had embedded themselves within human civilization?

  What if they looked just like humans?

  What if they were human? Just from a different planet.

  That round of thinking staggered him. Enough so that when the door to the apartment opened he wasn’t the first one through.

  Macey moved in ahead of everyone, rushing to Card’s side and kneeling down. She immediately put her hand on his wrist, feeling for a pulse. “Me granny was a nurse,” she said softly. “Taught me a lot about taking care of people. That’s partly how I got the job with Grimmel Corp’s CFO. He’s alive.”

  “We already knew he was alive,” Nicholas said, entering the apartment and standing beside her. “Can you tell what his injuries are?”

  “It’s a lot harder when the patient’s wearing armor plating,” Macey replied. “His pulse is strong though, so it can’t be too bad. Ooh, his eyes be flutterin’.”

  Nicholas could just barely see Card’s eyes through the tinted visor of his helmet. They landed on Macey first as they opened. He didn’t flinch or show any sign of fear, though his expression did turn cautious as his gaze drifted to Nicholas. That was when he gained a look of surprise.

  “Captain Shepherd,” he said, his voice dry. He paused to clear his throat. “You aren’t Captain Shepherd, are you?” His eyes continued to shift, taking in Scott and Gills.

  “Sergeant Card,” Gills said. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard so many stories. You’re a legend, man. I’m Gills, USSF Marine Corps.”

  “What?” Card replied, confused.

  “A handsome legend,” Macey added. “I’m Macey Lane. Just a single gal traveling through space.”

  “Huh?” Card said, even more confused. He looked at Nicholas again, likely hoping for an ounce of sanity. “Who are you?”

  “I am Captain Nicholas Shepherd. I’m just not your Captain Shepherd. I’ll save you the trouble of asking how that’s possible by telling you we don’t really know yet either. First things first. You’re hurt.”

  “Left arm fracture above the elbow,” Card said, emitting a groan as he reached with his right hand to cup his left side. “Two broken ribs. The way that thing hit me, I’m lucky to be alive.”

  “Yes, you are,” Nicholas agreed. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to help the rest of your squad. I got here as quickly as I could.”

  “I can attest to that,” Scott said. “My stomach is sore from holding the muscles so tight.”

  Card’s expression shifted again, sadness and loss passing over it. “There are no other survivors?”

  “No. I’m sorry. I’m sorry too for leading you into the city. It wouldn’t have made a difference where you went though. The aliens have tunnels everywhere.”

  “You tried to help. Or your wife did. I’m not going to try to understand two Captain Shepherds yet.” He put his hand out toward Gills. “Help me up, Marine.”

  “Copy that, Sarge,” Gills said, reaching for Caleb’s right hand, only to have Macey knock his arm aside.

  “I’m not so sure you should be standing up quite yet, Sergeant Cutie. We’d have sent the Swarm for ya, but we weren’t sure you should be moved without looking you over first.”

  “It’s okay,” Card replied, a bit of a blush and smile forming before he could belay it. “The armor shot me up with painkillers and the spider-steel contracted to better support my arm and ribs. It still hurts, but it’s manageable.”

  “Macey?” Gills squinted at her, raising his hands, palms up in question.

  “All right.” She gave him a permissive flip of her hand. Go ahead.”

  Gills grabbed Caleb’s right hand and leaned back, helping him to his feet. The motion brought Caleb’s attention to the entrance hole he had made in the outside wall and what he saw through it. Foresight hovering over the circle of destruction its spines had created.